Revue Starlight – Episode 11 (Review)

Last week on Revue Starlight, we were left to deal with waiting for a follow-up to one of the most dramatic cliffhangers; Karen is betrayed after Hikari steals a victory for herself. This week, we see Karen practically drowning in depression and heartbreak as we also learn the consequences of Hikari’s win. This episode is another must see for fans of this series and solidifies its place as one of the best shows of the summer season. The soundtrack is beautiful alongside the drama of the story which once again reminds me of Kunihiko Ikuhara. In my head, I imagined that the giraffe, (honestly I still wonder why the chose a giraffe as a mascot), would deny Hikari’s win and make then fight proper. However, that was not the case as he asks Hikari what she desires only for her to basically deny her victory and withdraw from school.

Karen was a lot less of the sore loser I expected, but instead a deservedly heartbroken girl. Her loss would have been one thing to deal with and accept much easier than Hikari’s withdrawal. Her heartbroken demeanor spills into her rehearsals for Starlight since she has not spoken to Hikari since the push that was felt across the Revue fanbase. In retrospect, I should have saw this coming. The battles indeed come with a consequence and I wonder if Hikari accepting her loss was genuine. On one hand, perhaps Hikari didn’t really give a shit anymore but could it be possible that since Karen lost the most important thing to her that Hikari was acting in accordance to that? So if that’s the case, will the final episode essentially be a battle to be freed from the consequences of Karen’s loss? Next week is the last episode of Revolutionary Girl Utena and I am excited to see what’s next but I’m also not wanting this amazing, gorgeous show to end.